paradamed
When I first watched this movie I was a bit skeptic about it. Here in Brazil the media tends to be very biased.The movie is very entertaining and shows a good view of the actual situation during the military governments. They try to actually be honest about it but not with the depth it requires. The characters are interesting and the acting is good.Nevertheless the focus tends to be on the supposed "heroes" and not reality itself. The director even addresses the real issues behind the guerrilla/terrorists groups but not with very depth.It is a very well known fact nowadays that those groups were not fighting for democracy but were actually fighting to instate a communist dictatorship. Some old guerrilla members/terrorists even came out on youtube claiming this was really the truth behind their intentions.The supposed heroes are also not so noble as the film portrays them. One of them became senator and somehow avoided being charged with international drug dealing. He got caught with over a kilo of marijuana seeds. He probably bought his way out based on corruption, an unfortunately common issue in Brazil. Another one of our heroes became State Minister but was involved in nepotism. Apparently the guy pretty much hired his entire family for important jobs in the government favouring his family against the law. He pretty much fell in discredit after that.So my point is, much of the actual facts are portrayed by the intelligence officer. His claim was actually true. They were torturing people and using questionable methods to avoid an even worse communist government. And these communist groups, most of them affiliated with the Cuban dictatorship based their actions on using young, naive Brazilians as cannon fodder. The bad thing is that even though this is mentioned it is not explored in depth.All in all the movie is really enjoyable and worth watching.
GUENOT PHILIPPE
I won't add anything to the other comments that are very interesting. Only this movie is a sort of french NADA. Remember, that tale which shows us a group of left wing anarchist group who kidnap the US ambassador in Paris. This topic is very close to the Bruno Barreto's feature. But the Chabrol's one was very critical towards the anarchists - not the State's power - and wanted to demonstrate their craziness, although the characters were somewhere poignant. So, if we analyse really the two films, there are some differences in the way of telling those very similar stories. That's all I wanted to point out.Period.
ionamay48
I bought this video after reading numerous reviews from other people who raved about what a great movie it is...What a mistake to listen to them! It was totally predictable and boring. The subtitles wouldn't have been so bad if anyone had actually had anything interesting to say. Not much substance here and not really much of a story either. I knew when I heard "Girl from Ipanema" in the opening scenes that this movie was going to bite the dust...No characters to care about and a stupid and boring ending. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON IT!!!
jungpfeffer
After the dark era of the 1980s - when the only movies being produced locally were, to put it mildly, very erotic - the Brazilian Movie Industry struggled to regain international credibility. And, while "Carlota Joaquina" and "O Quatrilho" clearly paved the way, this is (in my opinion) the production that put Brazil back on the charts. Based on a true story, "O que É isso, Companheiro?" is brought to life by actors who are probably the best performers of the currently generation, and earned an Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. The most amazing aspect of this movie, however, goes unknown by international audiences: two of its main actors (Pedro Cardoso and Luiz Fernando Guimarães) achieved success, in Brazil, through their work as comedians.
AD
